


Rainy Day

by Rochelle_Templer



Series: Inktober For Writers 2017 [21]
Category: Father Brown (2013)
Genre: Childhood, Gen, Pre-Series, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-21 18:16:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12463218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rochelle_Templer/pseuds/Rochelle_Templer
Summary: It's a rainy day outside and Father Brown searches for a way to pass the time....





	Rainy Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of my Inktober for Writers project. The prompt for this fic was "fingertips".
> 
> This takes place before the show, back when Sid was a child living in Kembleford. It's sort of a "missing scene" from my Ad Meliora fic with Sid being about 11 or 12 years old at this point.

Sid was bored.

He’d finished his homework and his chores almost an hour ago. Normally, he would be outside playing with his friends, but there was currently a brutal thunder shower that was pouring out buckets of rain. And it showed no signs of letting up any time soon.

Sid drummed his fingertips across the surface of the kitchen table, his legs swinging back and forth underneath. Mrs. M had already stopped by earlier that day and had left a shepherd’s pie in the oven for them to share for dinner tonight, so it was unlikely that she would be back for the rest of the day. Lady F was on holiday in Paris for the next two weeks, so she wouldn’t be dropping by either.

He let out a long sigh and looked at the window which was blurry from rivulets of rain running down it. Father Brown was in his office, probably working on his homily, so it wouldn’t be right to disturb him. At least, that’s what Mrs. M was constantly telling him. Sid started to contemplate ignoring her suggestion yet again when Brown suddenly walked into the kitchen, rubbing his hands together with a smile on his face.

“Finally finished with all that paper work,” he said. “Now, for a spot of tea and….oh, Sid. Surprised to see you in here. I thought you’d finished your work a while ago.” Just then, a crash of thunder brought a flash of realization to the Father’s face. “Oh…oh I see.”

“Right,” Sid said, heaving another sigh. “Can’t go out in this. Not unless I want to go swimming. But there’s nothing to do here either.”

“I quite disagree,” Father Brown said. “There are always plenty of things to do. It’s just a matter of finding them.”

“Yeah, but I’m talking about fun stuff,” Sid said with a smirk. “Not more chores or boring things like that.”

“And I was referring to fun activities as well,” Father Brown said with a touch of feigned hurt in his tone. Sid chuckled, knowing that nothing was meant by it which prompted a smile on Brown’s face as well.

“This isn’t the first rainy day I’ve been through,” he added. “I’m sure we can find something we can both enjoy.”

* * *

 

“There now, this is a wonderful way to pass the time on a day like today,” Father Brown said, surveying the chess board he had set up. “Now, would you like to be white or black?”

“Black, I guess,” Sid shrugged, his chin propped up by the heel of his hand. “When can I move the horse guys?”

“They’re knights,” Brown replied. “And not until the squares around them open up. For that, you’ll need to move your pawns.”

“I thought you said that I could move pieces around any way I wanted to,” Sid said. “Like the queens.”

“There’s only one queen for each of us,” Brown explained. “And yes, you can move them in any direction you want, but there are still limitations for each piece. And one of them is that you need to start with your pawns.”

“But those guys can’t do anything and you’ll take them out so easily,” Sid protested.

Father Brown eyed Sid from across the table. He did want to teach Sid how to play chess, but perhaps a rainy day when he was already bored was not the best time to do so.

“All right, Sid, how about we save this game for later? Is there a game that you could teach me?”

* * *

 

“I do hope Mrs. M will keep to her word to stay home for the rest of the evening,” Father Brown frowned. “I’m not sure how she would feel about a priest playing cards.”

“It’s just poker, Father,” Sid said. “And it has strategy and all that stuff you were talking about for chess. It’s just a different kind of strategy.”

“Yes,” Father Brown muttered. “A type you seem to be all too familiar with given how many hands you’ve won so far.”

“Aw, I’m just showing you the ropes right now, Father,” Sid grinned. “But how about we start making it a little more interesting?”

“I think it’s been interesting enough so far, thank you, Sid,” Brown said. “Now, remind me again, does a flush beat a straight?”

“It might,” Sid said, his smile growing. “Want to make a bet on it?”

* * *

 

“Now, this is more like it,” Father Brown said. “There’s a lot to be said for working together on a puzzle.”

“Depends on how much fun the puzzle is,” Sid replied. “And why are you making those piles of pieces?”

“Those are the border pieces, Sid,” Brown answered. “It’s easier to start with them and then work your way inward. So how about you help me find them?”

“Sure,” Sid nodded. Then they both fell silent as they carefully sorted the pieces. First, by finding the border pieces, then by separating out the solid blue pieces that looked like sky. Then they each began to pore over the pieces that were left, occasionally finding a pair that interlocked together.

Father Brown glanced over at Sid once in a while as they worked. Although he had started slow, Sid was starting to spy pieces that probably fit together at a steadily increasing speed. It wasn’t long before they had each put together a good-sized chunk of the center.

“Hey, you can almost see the castle now,” Sid said. He swiveled in his chair to face Father Brown better. “You know, Father, you and me…we make a pretty good team, yeah? Figuring out the puzzles and all that.”

A wide smile lit up Father Brown’s face as he looked over at him. “Yes. Yes, we do, Sid.”


End file.
